Kobe Luminarie (Higashi Yuenchi)

photo by Yoyogimura · CC BY-SA 4.0

photo by studio IRONY · CC BY 3.0

11 months after the ’95 earthquake: 11 days, first edition, 2.54 million visitors.

Eleven months after the earthquake of 17 January 1995, the city put up Italian-style arches and galleries of lights (‘luminarie’, from the name of the patron saints’ festivals of southern Italy) to remember the victims and express hope for the rebuilding: 2.54 million people came during the eleven days of the first edition, more than expected. Today about 150,000 light bulbs, mounted every year on wooden structures by Italian artisans together with Japanese staff, light the route from dusk until 21:30. Higashi Yuenchi Park, the main venue, was Japan's first Western-style sports ground, opened in 1875: the country's first baseball, rugby and football matches were played there.

A winter light festival held every year between the end of January and the beginning of February, with its main venue in Higashi Yuenchi Park in central Kobe, and installations also in the former foreign settlement and at Meriken Park.

ℹ️ Latest edition checked: 30 January–8 February 2026, illumination from dusk until 21:30, free admission. Higashi Yuenchi Park is accessible and free all year round anyway, outside the event period.

🚉 Sannomiya · 11 min walk

Sources: kobe-luminarie.jp · frantz.jp · ja.wikipedia.org

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